Timeline

1851

One person in four is killed by TB in Europe and America.

1854

TB is treated in sanatoria, with a strict regimen of bed-rest, fresh air at all times – patients are even moved outside in their beds in all weathers – a healthy diet and a gradual increase in activity levels.

The Tuberculin Testing and Attested Herd Scheme, and increasing consumption of pasteurised milk, helps to prevent animal to human transmission of Bovine TB in the UK.

1944

Doctors Schatz, Bugie and Waksman announced the discovery of a drug called ‘Streptomycin‘ and that the first patient had been successfully treated with the drug.

1952

Doctors Robizek and Selikoff at Seaview Hospital, New York, use a new drug called ‘Isoniazid‘ to treat TB patients.

1953

A survey of 50,000 children showed an 80% reduction in infection rate following the BCG vaccination, leading to its introduction in secondary schools in the UK. At the time, those most at risk of TB in the UK were young adults in industrialised settings. The USA opts not to use BCG after their research showed contrary conclusions.

1960

Professor John Crofton, a TB expert at the University of Edinburgh, proposed that a combination of Streptomycin, PAS and Isoniazid, could completely cure TB if used from the outset of an individual case. This radical approach, which halved TB notifications in Edinburgh over a three year period, was initially met with disbelief. Sir John’s findings were soon replicated in a large scale international trial, leading to the introduction of combination therapy as the global gold standard treatment. This method, which became known as the “Edinburgh Method”, continues to influence the medical world today, including combined therapy for HIV.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declares TB ‘a global emergency’ with deaths from TB higher than any previous year in history. WHO estimates that one third of the world’s population is latently infected with TB, leading to 7-8 million cases of active TB – and 1.3-1.6 million deaths, annually.

The Stop TB Initiative is established following the meeting of the first ad hoc Committee on the Tuberculosis Epidemic, which was set up to discuss the worldwide upsurge in TB cases during the 1990s.

>> TB Alert is registered in the UK.

1999

>> TB Alert, the UK’s national tuberculosis charity, launches on World TB Day, March 24th.

2000

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set a target to halt and begin to reverse the incidence of HIV, TB, malaria and other major diseases by 2015.The Amsterdam Declaration to Stop TB, developed by the Stop TB Initiative, calls for action from the 20 countries with the highest burden of TB.WHO endorses the establishment of a global partnership to stop TB, with targets for 2005 to diagnose 70% of all people with infectious TB and to cure 85% of those diagnosed.

>> TB Alert funds its first projects in India, in Delhi and Jharkhand State.

>> TB Alert launches a series of nine patient information leaflets – these were revised in 2006 and endorsed by the NHS – covering key topics in TB patient support.

2003

>> Archbishop Desmond Tutu becomes TB Alert’s Patron. He continues as Patron today, despite retiring from much of his charitable activities in 2011.

2004

The Second Stop TB Partners’ Forum produces the New Delhi Pledge, to develop a second global plan to guide the Partnership to achieve the Millennium Development Goals targets for TB by 2015.The Chief Medical Officer publishes the TB action plan, Stopping Tuberculosis in England. TB Alert is a key stakeholder.

The Department of Health launches Tuberculosis Prevention and Treatment: a toolkit for planning, commissioning and delivering high-quality services in England, in support of the 2004 TB action plan. TB Alert is named in the toolkit as a key source of advice to Primary Care Trusts.The UK government drops prescription charges for TB medication a move that TB Alert advocated for since its inception.

2008

The Global Leaders Forum on TB focuses attention on the link between TB and HIV and the need for enhanced action on co-infection.The UK Coalition to Stop TB launches with TB Alert as a founding member. The coalition is formed of UK-based organisations and individuals that share a commitment to fighting TB in the UK and overseas.

>> The TB Action Group (TBAG) launches with TB Alert’s support. TBAG provides a voice for people affected by TB in the UK.

>> TB Alert develops The Truth About TB programme as the Department of Health’s lead partner in delivering the TB awareness raising objectives set out in the TB action plan (2004) and TB commissioning toolkit (2007). The programme begins by raising awareness of the rise in TB among primary care trusts (PCTs).

>> TB Alert’s Honorary President, Sir John Crofton, passes away peacefully at the age of 97. Having worked tirelessly, to the end, Sir John is attributed to having saved over 10 million lives from TB. He is sadly missed.

2010

Cepheid launch the Gene Xpert molecular test for TB. This rapid test is endorsed by WHO and hailed as a major breakthrough.The Stop TB Partnership launches the Global Plan to Stop TB 2011-2015.The number of people falling ill annually with TB drops to 8.8 million. Though deaths from TB also drop, the figure remains high at 1.4 million people annually. The estimated global incidence rate stands at 128 cases per 100,000 population.

>> Under The Truth About TB programme, TB Alert begins to build the capacity of third sector organisations, that work with communities at high risk of TB in the UK, to develop their capacity to raise awareness of TB and to deliver TB services in association with statutory partners.

>> TB Alert receives a second round of funding from the Department of Health, to continue The Truth About TB programme – a huge endorsement of the work done so far to address awareness of TB in England.

>> TB Alert wins funding from DfID to continue its APCHIP programme in India until 2012.